Moon
by Howlitzer
Summary: There's a star close to me...she shines brighter every time I see her. *Shoujo-ai*


"Tomoyo, would you like to go stargazing with me?"

I turned to my friend, Sakura Kinomoto. It was the end of the school day, and we were getting ready to head home.

"You mean tonight?"

"Yeah."

"I'd be glad to."

"Okay! I'm sure your mom will be fine with it, but make sure to call me if you can't go, alright?"

"For sure. Who else is coming with us?"

"It's just the two of us, Tomoyo."

The two of us? Alone?

What?

"I haven't been able to spend much time with my friend lately, so I thought this would be a perfect chance," she said with a smile.

I could feel my heart start to speed up at the thought of it.

"Oh…that sounds really nice."

"So I'll see you later? I'll come over to your place."

"That's fine. See you later, Sakura."

As she left, I wondered what exactly was going on. You see, for the longest time…I've liked Sakura.

I've really, really, _really_ liked Sakura.

Therefore, something like this seemed so crazy to me…we had been out by ourselves before, and had sleepovers and all of that, but that was before everything that happened had happened. Before she confessed to the person that she liked. Was there a problem she couldn't talk to anyone else about? Some kind of secret?

Was she…going to confess to _me_?

I blushed madly at the thought, and then shook it out of my head.

That totally wasn't going to happen. The way Sakura and I loved each other was different. She saw me as a precious friend, but I saw her as something else entirely.

Nevertheless, I wasn't sad or upset when she fell in love with someone else. In fact, it was a wonderful thing that had happened to her. Whenever Sakura was happy, I was happy. Just seeing her face light up was more than I could ask for.

I told my mother, Sonomi, about Sakura's invitation.

"That's good! You should go, you should go! It's a nice night, too. Ah, that reminds me of a time with Nadeshiko…but nowadays, I can't think of her without thinking of that stupid guy as well."

I smiled. My mother had a love-hate relationship with Sakura's father, Fujitaka Kinomoto. They're pretty much rivals when it comes to Sakura in a lot of ways…

"He's lucky that he's as perfect as he is. If he had any flaws I would never forgive him for taking Nadeshiko away."

I knew that Mom liked Sakura's mother in the same way I liked Sakura. At one point, I would have thought that she could understand how I felt, but something inside of me told me that this was my problem and my problem alone.

To be honest, I don't think Sakura even realized how I really felt about her. She was somewhat dense…but even then, she was still really cute.

Maybe this was the best time to tell her…

* * *

Sakura arrived at our house just as the sun had disappeared from the horizon. I met her at the front gate.

"We'll walk over there."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a secret," she said.

A secret, huh? It seemed like it would be interesting.

We talked about many things as we walked along, most of it upbeat. There wasn't that much that was depressing, anyways. Besides, it was great that we could spend time with each other, laughing and smiling, just being happy together.

"Tomoyo."

"Yes?"

"Close your eyes. I can't let you see the rest of the way right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Don't worry, though…I'll guide you to our spot."

I smiled and nodded. How could I not trust her? After all that we had been through, she always made everything right.

She took my hand and I closed my eyes. Somehow, the trip felt a lot longer than ever before, just because I couldn't see.

"It won't be long, Tomoyo."

I hoped not. This waiting was almost unbearable!

"Okay…"

I was spun around, and then I felt my back hit something solid. A wall? No, more like a tree…

"Open your eyes, Tomoyo."

I wished that I had my video camera at that moment, or any kind of camera…or some way to make what I saw at that moment tangible to anyone else.

It was the most beautiful thing I had seen in my life.

Sakura was standing in front of me, the sky behind her filled with twinkling stars. Her hair blew gently in the breeze as cherry blossoms fell around her from the tree above, the moonlight hitting her so perfectly…

I could only stand there and stare, my breath caught in my throat.

What could I have possibly said at that moment? There wasn't a word I could think of.

She took a step towards me, and my heart started to beat faster.

"Tomoyo…I have something to tell you."

Here it comes.

"You know that I'm…a little dense, right? Sometimes I can't see things that are right in front me, you know? But…you've always been around to help me out. I'm happy for that, and very thankful. There's something else, though."

What could she mean by that…?

"When I couldn't understand my feelings for Syaoran, you helped me out. When I wanted to confess to Yukito, you gave me advice. Whenever I needed encouragement, you were there. You've been someone that I've loved and valued for so long, Tomoyo. So when I found out about this, I felt really badly about it, even though you would tell me not to be sad."

"Sakura…what is it that you're trying to tell me?" She took another step, and my heart was beating even faster.

"There was a time, when you said that you loved me, and I said it back. I didn't realize it at the time, but we meant two totally different things. That's why I feel this way…because I can't return your feelings properly. I…I somehow know that you're happy just being my friend, but to have that feeling linger for so long, it isn't right."

She took another step, and now she was right in front of me.

"Sakura…"

"Even though I can't return those feelings you have for me, and even though you don't mind if I can't do so, I still want to give you something. Even if it's only for a moment, I want to fulfill that wish that you had, Tomoyo…I want to give you something precious in return for the love that you've given me, without reservation."

I could feel her breathing softly against my face. I was too stunned at her words to react. She placed her hands around my waist and moved even closer to me.

Somehow, I should have expected it, but I just…didn't.

The moonlight cast a soft glow around her as her lips touched mine. It was a soft kiss, and although it only lasted a few moments... it meant more than anything in the entire world ever could.

I could feel her heart beat alongside mine, her lips warm and faintly sweet. She pulled away from me slowly, and we both took our time as our lips parted, our eyes locked onto each other. I could only see her, and she could only see me. The cherry blossoms continued to fall around us.

I felt like I was floating.

Her hands were still around my waist, our faces still close together. We wanted to stay like this for as long as we could.

This was more than I could ever want. On this night, Sakura had given me something I would never forget, a feeling I would treasure for the rest of my life.

I wanted to say something, anything that would express how I felt at that moment.

There wasn't a single thing that came to mind.

So I did the only thing that I could.

I took one of my hands and placed it onto her heart, as she stood in front of me.

The words suddenly came to me. There wasn't anything else to say.

"I love you, Sakura."

"I love you too, Tomoyo," she said, smiling. I could tell from the sound of her voice that she meant it in a different way than she had before.

I did not want that moment to end…there was no way to describe the happiness I felt at that moment, no way to even measure it.

I decided that I wouldn't bother trying. Sakura and I stood together in the moonlight, the stars shining in the sky, the cherry blossoms falling around us.

We both realized it.

There was nothing else we needed to say.


End file.
